Skating has developed into a popular hobby and a prosperous profession. Numerous individuals use roller skating and ice skating as a means of exercise, entertainment, and enjoyment. To enhance the visual imagery created by skating, it has hitherto been proposed to illuminate skates by means of small electric light bulbs arranged to produce desired lighting effects. The illuminating devices which have hitherto been proposed have been either permanently attached to the skates or have required structural changes in the skates. If the skater wishes to skate without the illuminating devices, he is unable to do so since the devices have been permanently affixed to the skate and their removal will disfigure the skates. Likewise, if the skater wishes to use the illuminating devices on another pair of skates, he is also unable to do so.
Various devices have also been proposed to illuminate shoe heels and soles, especially when the shoes are used for dancing. U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,922 to Dana III discloses a flashing disco shoe controlled by a three-way switch device which varies the illumination of the lights contained within the shoe. The shoe must be made from a transparent material to allow the illuminating devices to be seen. Such shoes are permanently altered by the illuminating devices and the devices cannot be used interchangeably with other pairs of shoes. Similarly, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,946,505 and 3,893,247 teach the implantation of light bulbs within transparent heels and soles. U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,572 requires a transparent chamber on the shoe sole in which a light is mounted.
The present invention obviates the disadvantage inherent in the foregoing types of illuminated shoes by providing an assembly which may be detachably secured to conventional shoe skates to convert them into illuminated skates.